


Three Count Braves

by tieria



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: 300 Word Drabbles, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Drabble Collection, Gen, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-01-31 01:57:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 13,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12665949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tieria/pseuds/tieria
Summary: weekly Vrains 300 word drabble collection37. [ep 55]pleas, truths, and a hope that makes Ema want to believe38. [ep 56] his heroes, their failings, and a question left for Takeru'sconsideration39. [ep 57] truth? lies? at the center of it all is areplacement'strap





	1. [Aoi] hope

**Author's Note:**

> it's the middle of nano but. I really want to start writing for vrains so here we go!  
> starting off with blue angel because. what did we do to deserve her honestly. she's so good i'm dying
> 
> 1\. [ep 26] blue angel, zaizen aoi, and _hope_

Blue Angel has spent the entirety of her life on the precipice.

Beneath her feet call the eyes of the void, whispering things to which she tells herself to pay no mind. She draws a clover on her cheek as she practices smiles in the mirror and strikes bouncy pose after cutesy expression, calling out to an imaginary audience with a voice she finds hard to recognize.

Is Blue Angel bright enough, cheery enough, popular enough? When the crowds turn with captive eyes to watch her, can the most astute of them see the frustration, the irritation, the sadness she’s stuffed down far into the persona of someone else?

In the world before the storm, Blue Angel smiles and winks and declares her final attack, and the crowds below cheer their adoration.

In her darkened bedroom she blinks back to herself, pads slowly into the dining room to eat dinner alone. On the evening news, they’re recapping her duel. She turns the television off, and the room plunges into silence.

If she keeps on dueling, will she be acknowledged?

(It doesn’t matter, because she still _fails_.

She fails, and she falls, and Zaizen Aoi _screams_ into the dark.)

 

Blue Angel wakes up.

She’s not the same person she was.

 _Return_ , call the voices from the void, and transient arms drag her down with the tear of the wind, wrap tight around her torso as the impact of digital walls break her involuntary flight. _It's easier not to fight._

She claws her way back to the duel the same way she'd fought to the top of LINK VRAINS- snarling at everything that says she can't and throwing herself into flight.

No, she thinks, and counts the beat of her heart to a three-draw. Blue Angel has, and always will be _hope._


	2. [Naoki] greatness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2\. [ep 27] shima naoki, his good intentions, and _greatness_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said to myself I was going to finish off one of the other three I started but then i laugh-cried my way through the entirety of vrains 27 and well.  
> here you go naoki you deserve it

Shima Naoki is meant for greatness. He’s just not quite sure when that greatness will come, is all. He’s got the right heart for it- everyone acknowledges that. That’s the reason the duel club admitted him. Even Yusaku, with his perpetually aloof attitude, has told Naoki that in his own roundabout way.

So he’s clearly meant for greatness. 

And so  _ what _ if he’s a little scared, Naoki thinks. So what if he’s a little intimidated by the calibre of duelists in LINK VRAINS, or the idea of getting hit with whatever virus the Knights of Hanoi are cooking up next. So what if he tries to get Yusaku to come with him, only to be shot down hard. 

(Again.)

 

It doesn’t matter; this time he’s decided.

 

Lonely Brave.

He picks the name because it’s cool, obviously. Like Playmaker, the lone hero fighting against the Knights of Hanoi. But Playmaker’s got allies, now. Maybe they’re even friends, LINK VRAINS’ new golden trio.

(Naoki’s still working on that bit.)

But Playmaker sends him a card, and that has to mean  _ something _ . Out of the vast sea of duelists chasing greatness, it’s  _ him _ that Playmaker chooses.

 

(He’s kind of tired of being told he has good intentions and nothing else.

Naoki has courage, too.)

 

Lonely Brave leaps into LINK VRAINS. Or more like trips and falls, but no one sees that, so Naoki figures that’s an okay thing to keep to himself.

And then the Knights of Hanoi are there, and Naoki is way out of his league- but Lonely Brave doesn’t think that. Lonely Brave rolls with the punches- or lack thereof, if he wants to be specific- and Lonely Brave…

With that card as manifestation of his ability, Lonely Brave  _ wins _ .

  
(But Naoki’s changed his mind. Brave Max sounds  _ much  _ cooler.)


	3. [Faust/KoH] sinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 28] faust, two fallen stars, and the final hopes of a _sinner_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes I know none of the KoH use star/space imagery; I'm just really fascinated by the dynamic there and have had stars on the mind all week ;; cutting this one down was awful, i'll probably end up writing something about these three again sometime.  
> please poke me with all your knights of hanoi thoughts because I'm super intrigued after the past few weeks!!

They’ve chosen to bear the weight of their sins. It’s a shame that Hanoi is not so forgiving of failure. Faust stands before them in the dark spaces of LINK VRAINS- better here than in the sterile light of a hospital room. The darkness that envelops them is kind- even a white dwarf can still shine brilliant, here.

(Because once long in the past, they had been as bright as the planets glowing like stars in the night sky above.)

Genome, he knows, had very few that would notice if he went missing. ‘ _An eccentric’_ had always been most’s first choice of words after working with him. But to dismiss him on his outlandish ideas was to do the sheer ability the man possessed a tremendous disservice- was to ignore the very things that he had achieved at their sides. He knows that Vyra thought of them as family. He had never asked about her situation, not even in the days when their work had rested firmly under the fluorescence of laboratory lights- some things, after all, were much more polite to leave unsaid.

(He would be lying to say that he does not still think upon those days with warmth, gentle as the light of recovery she’d released upon LINK VRAINS.)

But now they are fallen, and their feeble justifications have long since crumbled into the dark. Faust stands alone, wonders how much longer he will have to gamble his soul. He is the last of them, a cooling star on the verge of its death- but he will not go so quietly, nor will he allow that victim of their sins to be dragged further down into the black hole they’ve created.

 

 

 

(It is what he tells himself, until the moment that accursed Ignis damns him to silence.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing things for the main cast too I swear ;;  
> next week will be a "what-if" story on either kusanagi or yusaku, unless whatever reason they put maekawa on recap duty instead of yoshida means we get a plot/character thing that totally destroys them both ha...ha...  
> (in which case, go or akira!)


	4. [Shoichi] vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 29/hc] shoichi, his little brother, and their summer _vacation_ routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty much non-canon now that I actually look at that photo not half-asleep. This isn't exactly what I said I'd write either but I realized I'd spoil part of the longfic I'm working on if I posted that one so ;; please wait a little while longer ;;
> 
> Mainly inspired by the fact that jpn vrains twitter went from "i feel like a proud parent" (re: the photo) -> "poor kusanagi parents" -> "wait do they even have parents??" in the span of about three minutes the other day

Every summer since they could remember, Shoichi and Jin’s mother had taken them to a small house in the countryside. It was a quaint old thing, built in an age long before either of them had been born. The verdant green mountains loomed tall in the distance and the fields sprawled far as the eye could see- or, Shoichi came to understand, until the next town over, still an impossible distance back in those childish days- and to the brothers born and raised in the bustle of Den City, their father’s home was almost a sort of paradise, dyed in the colors of perpetual summer.

But Jin had always loved those vacations the most- even in those early days of youth, it had been obvious that Shoichi’s talents lay in the realm of the digital moreso than the physical. 

Their escapes, unsupervised into the fields. Squeezed into the same bed, a blanket over their heads to stifle the flashlight as they traded scary stories until they fell asleep, an exhausted pile. Pushing Jin into the pond, only to get dragged in by the ankle a moment after- The warmth of those long summer days had sunk deep into their skin and burrowed into their bones, inescapable and unreturnable.

Shoichi clutches at the heat-haze of his memories as the blue light of the monitor shines pale over his face, a three a.m mockery of the summer sun. Shoichi hasn’t visited that house in years- isn’t sure if it’s even still in the family. He was promised the house when he’d turned twenty; that day had come and gone without a word to either him or his now-distant mother.

But one day, when it’s over- he’ll take Jin back to that house and make up a fraction of time stolen away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm never even half-joking about a recap episode destroying one of my fics again, I say as I frantically erase things on my longfic plans. Jin why does your name have to have just one kanji ;;)


	5. [Ema] dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're a fool if you dance, and a fool if you just look on: all fools, so let's all dance."
> 
> [ep 30] bessho ema, the fools who _dance,_ and the fools who just look on

She is first and foremost a treasure hunter drowning herself in virtual finery, data dancing fluid across her palms. Slipping through decaying remains, carving her way into places meant for no outsider’s eyes- if it didn’t thrill her, then she’d have no right to the name. Her lofty price is met only by the desperate, the incompetent-

But that’s a bit rude.

Ghost Girl knows better than to speak ill of a paying fool. Any respectable man will dance to the tune of common idiocy with the proper words, and in this line of work, flattery is as much a weapon as a knife. 

(There’s never been a job that suits her more.)

A deck full of unlovely cards, tools stashed out of sight, utter control of conversational flow. Deals, struck with conceits rendering victory and defeat irrelevant- at the very end everything still collects in her upturned palms.

(From somewhere yet unexplored floats a melody, peculiar and enticing.) 

In the depths of LINK VRAINS, Ghost Girl lifts a finger to her lips and sharpens her tongue into a blade, thinking: Playmaker and his AI claim to act without a hand to pull their strings, but do so seem to relish in their roles- the fool who dances, the fool who only dares look on.

(She chases the rhythm of her treasure, away from the spectacle of it all.)

Revolver emerges a force from the murk, swallowing up the golden firefly light and all the clever words she thinks to say. They both know why she’s here. They both know what she’s seen. Caught between frantic sparks of energy and data like a gale, she swallows down the bitterness of her own contracts and leaps amidst the flames to dance.

(But she refuses to hear any melody but her own.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here I thought editing down Faust was bad... Ema is one of my favorites but she's hard to capture in just 300 words, I think.  
> This is now available at my vrains-only tumblr [here](https://ema-bessho.tumblr.com/tagged/three-count-braves)! I'm extremely terrible at actually (re)blogging but I'll try and keep up with crossposting at the very least.


	6. [Ema & Revolver] wager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "With gambler's glory delivered  
> He had thirst for more; a bigger score;  
> A trophy no one could ignore  
> And the devil's wealth had withered  
> So with cunning class he offered fast his soul;  
> The wager had been cast"
> 
> [ep 31] the gambler, the devil, and the _wager_ made over a game of cards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a double feature! (Not quite 300 and 300 but. Shh close enough.)

From the depths of the dark did the devil emerge, a smile painted superior behind the tint of his mask and proposition unrefusable- one by one did the exits attest to that as they slammed down before her. With ire did he eye her treasure, with ill-disguised haughtiness did he declare his counterattack. And then, with the flip of a card-

“Ghost Girl,” called Revolver as the world did fade to red, “How about a bet?”

More than her freedom, hm?  Ema glanced over her shoulder. “And what’s our wager?”

Faintly did Ema detect amusement in his response. “Let’s call it your soul.”

A laugh, its whimsical tones a lie. “Then that means I get to play with your soul if I win?” 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” said Revolver, and sped into his turn with a force that spoke of no kindness. Of course not, thought Ema- for what devil possessed what he thought insignificant enough to gamble in? But there was no shortage of things to take. His life did she strip from him, stole away the riches born of the storm.  

Still. Her heart: beating out of time, a tattoo pounding against her ribcage, a bird struggling to break free. She had no choice but to win. Her vision had narrowed, only one way remained.  _ If you fail, you will not get a second chance.  _

Ghost Girl reached out towards the gates of hell- and seized the chains of their bet.

 

 

From the crest of the crashing waves did the devil stage her attack; from the depths of the sea did Revolver watch a kingdom of sand crumble. With a resolute grace not quite felt did Revolver smile- he did so prefer when his opponents weren't fools.  _ For so too did the devil fall to panic and the trappings of demise... _ A disappointment of no matter. Still, thought Revolver. At the end, she could have at least had the courtesy of putting up a fight. He touched down where she had fallen, Playmaker powerless behind the barrier.

With hair aflutter in the remnants of the storm, Ghost Girl forced herself to her feet between them, putting on airs of arrogance even as her silhouette wavered. He did not miss the way her arms crossed behind her back. “I suppose you want your treasure?”

It was unexpected, really, that she could keep standing against the mental pressure. A foolish tenacity at the mouth of hell. Revolver said nothing and counted down the seconds-  _ three, two one _ -

Ghost Girl crumbled. Revolver towered above her and glowered- “You didn't forget our wager, did you?”

“No matter what I did,” cried Ghost Girl, playing doe-eyed at the moment of her death, “As long as you activated that card-”

So she had finally seen through her fear. Revolver scoffed- far too late for clarity. The bet that had never been a gamble, the weight that he carried in his deck- they were beyond the comprehension of a mere treasure hunter.

Her firefly danced away; Revolver let it go. As his real prey watched on, eyes burning red as the pawn’s disappearance, Revolver vanished. Let her lure Playmaker to him again, dancing past her demise in the palm of his hand.

 

 

(She had not yet played her last hand. With her next would she win again. But for now… Ema called out with a vulnerability that would stoke the flame. She wasn’t the gambling type- but Ema wasn’t making a bet. When the devils clashed again, Playmaker would emerge the victor, and the chips again would fall like gold coin into Ema’s palms.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The devil said "Revel in your victory;  
> You've earned your damning  
> Pack your things, and leave."  
> But, the gambler only stood and stuttered  
> Stammering on words in disbelief  
> "Now you've won a new vocation  
> Pray to me that you can stand the heat!"  
> And that, the gambler saw  
> Meant he had gone and finally set the devil free  
> \- The Dear Hunter/ The Most Cursed of Hands


	7. [ensemble] speech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 32] the heroes, the onlookers, and the _speech_ neither side gets to hear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is messy, just trying to get down some ideas I want to work with in the future.

>Are you looking at the feed right now?

    >I don’t want to look. I’m too scared. We were just IN there!

> Please just trust me!

(The last broadcast out of LINK VRAINS comes as an ominous warning posted on a second-rate news site and seen by the world. One by one the channels go down, until all that’s left is black screens and radio static.)

 

When they leap into LINK VRAINS, they don’t know that they’re marching towards their deaths at the end of the world, however temporary that might be. Blue Angel goes because her heart can no longer sit unmoved at the sight of injustice. Within her dwells a strength that can stand for everyone who’s fallen to the dark. Go Onizuka goes because that desire is written into his bones- to fight, to protect, to keep the peace for the children who will see people disappearing to data in their nightmares.

No one hears their declarations save a frog and a pigeon who fail to broadcast a thing.

It doesn’t matter. Though heroism pops bright at the forefront of their thoughts, though LINK VRAINS is where they’ve struck their fame, that’s not the intention for which they risk their lives.

 

(Pessimistic eyes stare up at television screens, newscasters moving on nonchalant as if they hadn’t just broadcasted death-

And then the feed flickers back to life.)

 

Playmaker is the only one who knows, a burden he’s driven to shoulder himself- he’s unsure if it’s better or worse that those charismatic hearts don’t retreat now.

 

Unbeknownst to them, the world watches.

>That’s Blue Angel, isn’t it?

    >Isn’t that the same creep from the warning? She’s going to be okay, right?

>She will. I believe in her.

 

(The three step forth, and reject the concept of their own deaths.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be vacationing up in Tokyo until the new year, so I won't be able to watch ep 33 in realtime as usual. Worst comes to worst I'll post something during the broadcasting break on the 3rd. I already have... thoughts... on Spectre so something will definitely happen haha


	8. [Spectre & Aoi] kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 33] accusations, _kindness_ (not yet) seized, and their reflections distorted in the mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting from my phone, so please let me know if anything looks weird!

Accusations, leveled at a mirror.  
(Neither of them wanted to be lonely.)

You, who brushed your fingers against kindness and found yourself held carefully at arm’s length. Is it a deficiency? Are you lost in the fragments of the person you used to be?  
No.  
(What else could it be? You are unnecessary. You live life but a shadow, praying for the day the light falls upon your pallid face. For the day that you’ll reach forth and seize the path you'll walk with your own two hands.)

{ _You helped me. You_ saved _me_. You whisper the words to a back that will never hear them. It's easy to tell yourself you don't mind. It was always so easy, when all you had was misery.}

You, with your heart full of holes. Did you honestly think you could be loved?  
Build into yourself the story of the heroine, whose tears are not so worthless a thing and whose outstretched hand is not so easily ignored. Tell yourself there is strength to be found in solitude so long as you march obligingly towards tomorrow.  
(Does it make you feel better? Does it remind you of your thrown-away dreams?  
No. But it's not wrong to long for hope.)

You stand upon a stage of your own careful construction, shroud yourself in airs, and spurn those who would dare regard you with pity.  
(Pity? The last thing you need is their pity. What you demand is their respect.)

{ _What you_ need, murmurs your heart, quiet between its beats _, is a friend to confide in_. To that, you close your eyes and pretend you did not hear.}

But like this, plans all thwarted and defenses stripped away, lies do not fall so easily from your lips.

(And to you, to your wish, the angel-)


	9. [Shoichi] graveyard shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [spec] (the dog, the wolf, and Kusanagi Shoichi yet again working the _graveyard shift_ )

Kusanagi Shoichi functions. And he does a pretty good job of it, if anyone is to ask.

He likes cooking, insofar as running his truck is  _ cooking _ \- at first it was a means to an end, but now it’s a relaxing routine that burns the time between incidents. He likes the people, too.

“You’re just like the puppy,” says a child, standing on tiptoes to push the bill over the counter as their father watches on from a nearby table. He smiles, and leans careful over the counter to hand the kid their snack without making them strain for it. He knows it’s true- his temperament has always been laid-back.

 

But it’s these nights that get him. The restless, lonely ones that eat away at him, from which there is no recourse. 

Yusaku burns with a wildfire that bursts at the seams of him.

So does Shoichi. He’s just had a bit more practice marking off its boundary lines, is all.

 

Because what none of them have realized- what even Yusaku hasn’t seen the depths of- is that Cafe Nagi’s other logo is a wolf, and it’s poised to devour.

_ There’s only so much that can be done _ , say the doctors, every time he goes to visit, hoping for a miracle that won’t arrive.

_ Bullshit _ , snarls the wolf, though in his waking mind Shoichi knows it’s true. It only serves as oil before the match.

He’s burned through people and their secrets before- before he found Yusaku, in the long days he’d spent overextending himself trying to be both instigator and avenger.

He’ll do it again. If it means there’s no more tragedy, if it means Jin will register his presence in the room, if it means he can spare Yusaku another nightmare-

He’ll do it again in an instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this probably deserved more words than the format could give it ;; or I just have too many ideas, which... is also very probable heh


	10. [Aoi] cruelty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 34/au-cd] stories about blue angels, a deep and festering _cruelty_ , and a strength that stands independent of heavenly wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 600 words, because aoi continues to be the character who deserves it most  
> also, [bgm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_kIn-QGpBU) for anyone who likes instrumentals while reading/is curious what i listened to while writing (it's 'her baton' from the devilman crybaby ost)

Aoi opens her eyes to the sight of light dancing blurry through the leaves of a tree. There are sounds, too- familiar voices trading talk of what can only be a story ten years in the making. She does not stir as she takes careful count of her senses, her limbs. Even now the feedback rings strong like radio static in her head, a tolling bell trying to pull her away from the bleary world before her.

“If you can’t understand,” snarls Spectre in that lurid way of his, “then I’ll show you, the same as that insufficient Zaizen Aoi!”

If her time as an ‘insignificant idol’ has taught her anything, it’s when she’ll never get a better cue. “Not yet,” says Aoi, and struggles to her feet, staggering on unsteady legs, bracing against the ache in her back, shoulders, chest. “I’m not done yet.”

And in that one moment of slack-jawed shock as he whirls towards her, Aoi  _ relishes _ .

“Oh? I intended to throw you in the heart myself. I admit I didn’t think you would get up again.” Spectre’s words, with that useless, polite venom. Ah- she’s growing so tired of being spoken down to. She heaves out a breath, but doesn’t reply. Instead she turns to Playmaker, walks across the field slow but with head held high. She doesn’t spare Spectre so much as a glance as she passes by.

She calls- “You have to go and fight Revolver, don’t you? Time’s short, you know. Don’t waste it on someone insignificant as this.” 

In the intensity storming like lightning through Playmaker’s eyes, she sees a small moment of doubt. And she knows how it must seem, to him. He knows better than anyone the way her own foolish, hasty desires had been warped and pulled her into the dark.

She stands, battered and bruised and wings all torn apart by the cruelty of that virtual wind. Her hair is aflutter, a tangled mess; it doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. Like all her duels before, losses and victories alike, there is something she has learned, something that has propelled her forth another step.

And it’s resilience that Playmaker sees in her, then. Not the mark of her loss written across her tattered dress, not the questions that flutter nervous about her, dragged up from the darkest depths of her doubting heart-  _ not enough not enough, why bother when you’ll only lose again? _

He takes a step back. “I’m leaving it to you.”

She nods and moves to take his place- but not a thing in the world could have stopped her from another match. Not time nor data nor the will of fate itself, a ruthless god writing impassively the story of her tomorrows in a heaven locked so far away.

“This will be short,” she says, then- “And you’re right. I’m not that Blue Angel.” 

Spectre laughs, grating and pitiful. “I’m glad you’ve learned.”

She smiles too, though her reasons differ.

She isn’t Blue Angel; that much is true.

She is Zaizen Aoi. Blue Angel is but a part of her, a thing of hopes and decade-old dreams, a kernel of strength that’s blooming fast into something all her own.

If Spectre can’t see himself beyond the storybook illusion he’d written to protect, if even the compassion he’d tried to create has warped into an emotion he himself doesn’t understand… Then she’ll just have to fight him outside the bounds of their burned-up narrative.

(She won’t cry, when she wins. Because she has never cried without reason, and refuses to let the darkness and despair take her again.)


	11. [Yusaku & Spectre] truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [Ep 35] Playmaker, Spectre, and an absolute _truth_ not shared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting from my phone again this week so I’m 100% sure something somewhere is going to look weird, please point it out to me if it is ;;
> 
> This was supposed to be just Yusaku but Spectre decided he had words to say and that just sums up every vrains thing I’ve written since episode 33 honestly

There is no such thing as a soul that can weather the flames unscathed.

  
Yusaku knows this, an absolute truth. He is living proof of it. He and Jin, so far as what the two of them are doing can be called living.

  
And yet.

  
His time has stopped. The world flows on around him, but he is a singularity that cannot be moved. If anything, he presses on bold against the current, daring the floodwaters to break over his head.

  
And yet.

  
Spectre stands before him, an existence diametrically opposed to his own. Who smiles, and calls the deepest pits of hell a welcome home.

  
And yet-

  
No. No, he can’t falter here. If the revenge called justice is all that remains, then it’s that he must cling to, must rely on to propel him forth in the absence of wind at his back. The course he’s chosen can’t possibly be wrong. With every ounce of strength he possesses will he prove that.

* * *

For the lengths he’s gone to protect his identity, it’s amusing how easy Playmaker is to read. Spectre sees his hesitation, the off-kilter aggression that follows, and thinks to himself an absolute truth-

  
If his worldview was so easy to shatter, then that only proves its worthlessness.

  
Playmaker is no pushover; no child born of those white rooms could be. He is no foolish idol dreaming blue dreams, nor is he a sheep following so blindly the reasonings of an older power, a higher one. His fight was cleaved from the same root as Spectre’s own resolve. Polar opposites, made exactly into what they needed to be.  
But the truth of the matter is: with his dueling learned of bitter resentment, with nothing but that baseless judgement born of instinct… Playmaker will simply be no match.


	12. [Akira & Shoichi] uninformed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 36] Zaizen Akira, Kusanagi Shoichi, _uninformed_ protectors the both of them

Akira is beginning to realize that all the things he knows are just the beginning- just the first lines of the poem, scattered pages of the story. Children clashing at the price of their lives, deciding the value of their existence at six years old-

Shortly after the first time Hanoi ripped Aoi away, Akira realized that Playmaker’s virtue is in his compassion, kept in amounts too heavy for someone sworn to revenge. So if that burden could be his to carry, he had thought with an almost foolish optimism...

But Akira has his own selfish kindness, too.

_Forget about him, forget about him._

If it means that Playmaker can press on, towards the place where the vanished Aoi waits, then let the thorns pierce him through and swallow his scraps. For her sake- if there is no other choice- he’ll burden this boy as many times as he must.

* * *

Shoichi taps his fingers against the flat of the countertop and bides his time, parsing information out of the corner of his eye. Those journalists are painfully slow- and though he knows Yusaku can handle himself, he can’t help but worry. He’d just told Yusaku he’d be Playmaker’s support. The irony of how limited he is without proper visuals isn’t lost on him.

The cloud of apprehension breaks as his free screen flickers back from black- and all the relief shreds itself to pieces when he sees just who it is Yusaku’s dueling, when he sees to what lengths that boy is willing to go to ensure his victory.

Yusaku is too kind to forsake someone who’d once extended him a hand, no matter how unwanted the offer. He knows that better than perhaps even Yusaku himself.

Shoichi doesn’t waste time- He’ll blow the winds of fortune in Yusaku’s favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...So Akira is having a pretty awful day, huh?
> 
> In case you're interested and missed it: I also wrote about Yusaku and Spectre for this episode [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13468224)! It's probably the more quality thing I wrote this week //


	13. [ensemble] regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 37] _regrets, regrets, regrets_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm. Upset.
> 
> (1/3)

There is no regret, for Zaizen Akira.

(That is a lie. He has a thousand regrets, all piled one atop the other and crushing in their realizations. All the time he should have spent with Aoi. Every word he should have said, everything he should have noticed before it went this far. He didn’t have enough time to make it right again.)

He reaches out and takes hold of his own demise. He’s sorry. He’s coming now.

* * *

 

Kusanagi Shoichi would regret it, if Yusaku were here.

(But he’s not.)

There is a depth to Shoichi that Yusaku mustn’t see, a dark streak that runs deep and thick as Yusaku’s own anger. They’re supposed to bring out the best in each other, not the worst.

(But Yusaku _isn’t here_.)

That black streak- every dark bit of human emotion he’s so skilled at keeping in check- it all billows out from his lungs in a curse that’s too bitter to be called _regret_.

* * *

 

Spectre has no regrets.

He would have preferred to win, of course. The piece that places the enemy King in check is of far more value than one fallen off the board- but he has defended Revolver, hastened the tick of the clock another hour forth.

(He has no regrets, until he turns and sees the kindest heart he’s ever known burning before his eyes. That might be a regret- or it might be hatred. He’s not sure he knows the difference.)

* * *

 

Fujiki Yusaku is no longer allowed to regret, not a single step on the path he’s chosen.

He cannot regret, just as he cannot lose. It’s not arrogance- rather, it’s his only choice. He’s created the burdens he’s to bear, holding tight to their hopes and stolen futures. And if it causes him suffering? That’s only just.


	14. [Yusaku & Spectre] unlikely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 37/ au-cd] Playmaker, Spectre, and a result one thought more _unlikely_ than the other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is the point where I admit I've been writing under the heading "(Is it… bad if I say I really want spectre to win this duel? )" since we got the spoiler summaries. I'll probably come back to the idea to do it justice when I'm not... in pain...
> 
> (2/3)

Zaizen Akira doesn’t seize hold of his cage. Kusanagi Shoichi’s patchwork modifications to the force logout system don’t fail. None of it matters, because Yusaku doesn’t  _ win. _

The drop of his life from fifty to zero is startlingly fast- he doesn’t have the time to brace for Sunavalon’s impact, let alone the shock.

“ _ Playmaker!” _ Ai yells, and for the first time the dangerous undertones lurking in his synthesized voice take on the malice of anger. Yusaku barely hears it for the jolt of panic that races through him from somewhere painful behind his eyes down to the tips of his shuddering fingers. He can’t stop them- he keeps waiting for that surge of electricity he  _ knows _ won’t come.

Spectre crosses the field in slow steps, composure utterly regained. He stops just before reaching Yusaku, gestures to the empty cage with a wide sweep of his arm and a look of utter derision in his eyes. The timbre of his voice is patronizing. “Brilliant. Truly magnificent!”

Yusaku pushes himself to his feet against the numb weakness in his legs, his shoulders. Even with his thoughts ringing manic-bright he still can’t stand to be looked down upon by someone who should  _ understand _ . He almost falters; Spectre takes hold of his wrist, assistance like an insult. “If you had just given up that  _ pathetic _ justice of yours, I’ll admit you had every opportunity to win.” 

And then Spectre’s hand on his wrist is gone, dragging away the pieces of an unusually silent Ai.

“Revolver will be pleased,” mutters Spectre, but his words are distorted in ringing ears. With the sensation of freefall Yusaku’s knees hit the ground. The panic, the phantom aches, the memories of those endless days overflowing their bounds- they all disappear.

(Split neatly into his component pieces, there is nothing.)


	15. [Shoichi] possibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 37/au] Kusanagi Shoichi, the voice in his head, and three-thousand and one _possibilities_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is chapter 3/3 for the week!

_ Today, you will fail to save Zaizen Akira.  _

Shoichi wakes with those words rattling through his head in a voice that he doesn’t know. Blinking the sleep from his eyes and chasing a dream of a happier decade, he doesn’t realize the significance of them.

(But oh, how quickly does he learn.)

Blue Angel loses her wings. Spectre walks towards the flames. Zaizen Akira willingly takes hold of the thorns-

Shoichi slams his fists hard on the counter, but the red sting of them is nothing compared to the feeling searing its way through his head, his heart. He knows the road this goes down, knows it with a sudden and painful clarity like the weight of the sky plummets as Atlas on his shoulders. 

Yusaku falls. Go Onizuka is sacrificed to the roiling storm. As the tower awaits its final bricks, Playmaker and Revolver rip each other to shreds in a duel of pointed conviction and even sharper attacks. The tower activates; the world’s systems go down. In the three hours that follow, modern society crumbles and builds itself back up again.

 

He loses Yusaku. He  _ loses Yusaku. _

 

Not yet. Shoichi steels himself and channels all his shuddering frustrations into the situation at hand. He still has time; the result have not yet been decided. The duel has yet to begin, and Shoichi has never had more weapons at his disposal. Because this time...

(Surely there’s something he’s missed, a road he hasn’t yet taken. He sifts through every possible “today” with a frantic precision, because surely,  _ surely- _ )

_ Tomorrow, _ says the voice of a person from a thousand years ago to the pale imitation,  _ you’ll start it all again. Because this is what we chose. As many times as it takes until he makes it out of this. Remember? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably have written like three time loop fics by the time vrains is done with its run. Kusanagi just made himself a /really/ easy target this week


	16. [Hanoi] family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 38] a room full of graves, the warmth of a distant childhood, and a _family_ disappearing one by one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for all your support these past few weeks both over here and on tumblr! I'm always so blown away by the fact that somehow people are reading these little bits of character study/headcanon/au. Really, thank you so much ;;  
> Please have some Hanoi Family feelings! I know it's probably /weird/ to say this about a recap but... I really liked this episode!

They’d known that it might come to this. At the end…

No. From the very start, they’d accepted that things might end this way, with virtual bodies set in virtual coffins and minds drifting somewhere far away. If it took their lives to right the wrongs of the decisions they’d made while wandering astray, then they’d wholeheartedly embrace that sort of conclusion.

Revolver remembers his childhood with fondness. Genome and his father, debating down in the living room with enthusiasm in their voices and an ambition he couldn’t help but admire in their eyes. Walking hand in hand with Faust and Vyra down the long slope of Stardust Road, a picnic basket in Faust’s free hand and a blanket draped across Vyra’s- an excursion that would become an entire afternoon. A little bit later- sitting at the edge of the pier with Spectre, shoes and socks stacked neatly beside them and bare feet dangling in the gentle waves, talking about nothing in particular but glad for each other’s company all the same.

It is not in their nature to want to see people hurt- and yet this is the business they’ve made their atonement of time and again. The weight of their lives sits heavy on his hands- of his family not by blood but of affection.

(Their faces are peaceful in the sea of the unconscious. He truly does think fondly of them all.)

And at the verge of the tower’s completion, he will take up all their burdens. He just needs a moment’s more time, even if it means a lie. Just one last meeting- if they’ve fallen for  _ him _ , then he’ll see it all- his missions, his fixations, his crimes- though to the very end.

(And, after the story has all been told, he’ll see them again.)


	17. [Go (sort of)] film

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 39] (to the children Go’s like a _film_ hero, or a superhero, or… just their own, everyday hero, really)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry my brain went "you can either write about traumatized children or make mirror force memes" and my hands decided to try and smash them both in here to no effect I'll try to do better next week orz  
> (But please show seriously don't... don't traumatize all these small orphan kids I'm begging here...)

Go Onizuka is like the hero of a film. Kinda like a superhero, but a celebrity-type. No masks or secret identities, just a name and a deck and a love of making people smile. He’s strong and he’s popular and his duels are  _ always _ the most fun to watch.

And having that star to call their brother? Yeah, they’ve got the  _ coolest _ brother. 

Souta’s not supposed to fight, but he’d probably suplex anyone who says otherwise, just like Go  _ definitely _ didn’t sorta-kinda teach him one day after school.

Because Go’s unbeatable- or at least they all thought so, until Playmaker showed up and proved them wrong. They might’ve hurt Go’s feelings a little, suddenly talking about Playmaker all the time, and Souta still feels a little bad about it. But it all makes sense to him- Go Onizuka is pretty much the best guy they all know. Playmaker is just the best guy they  _ don’t _ know. Doesn’t mean they look up to Go any less. You’re allowed to have two favorite superheroes when one of them’s practically your family.

 

So when Go stands up against the villain at the base of the tower, of course they watch with eyes glued to the screen- until they’re forced to shut them by that malevolent light. Souta feels like it shines a silent eternity.  

“Mirror Force?” mutters one girl to another, the two huddled together as the light fades. Everyone stares for a while, because no one knows the answer.  

“He’s just getting started!” Souta stands and declares. Everyone else shouts their agreement, cheering with everything they’ve got. They’ve seen this a hundred times before- getting hit a few times before he pulls of a comeback is just Go’s style.

Their brother’s a hero, and heroes don’t lose.

 

 

 

(Not in the films, anyway.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Ignore my small orphan oc that will never show up again I just ran out of words using "the kids" all the time lol)  
> I do have actual thoughts about Go I promise. Next week. Next week for sure...


	18. [Go] applause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 40] the glory of the stage, the _applause_ from the audience, and Go Onizuka's reason to fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU VRAINS for a second you had me worried there...

For as long as Go’s been alive, he’s lived for others.

He’s always been his own master (what Go wants he  _ gets _ . This isn’t an opinion or a personal creed, but a fact by which he lives his life) and no amount of pressure from people putting themselves on pedestals could change that. Criticism means nothing from an outsider.

But as much as it’s been about him, it’s been about them.

He wants to inspire. He wants to bask in their cheers and have everyone watching him dream of grasping the same glory. The audience’s happiness is his motivation-  _ Climb to greater heights. Prove your greatness time and time again. _

(Or that’s what he thinks, until Playmaker steals his stage from him. Only then is he forced to admit something a little more selfish- he doesn’t want to be forgotten. He’d rather die a hero only to himself than fade silent into obscurity.

He won’t realize until later just what a test of his resolve that will become.)

  


But here, against Revolver- no amount of applause will change the conclusion they’re hurtling towards, scraping away at each other’s lives in cuts and bullet holes. Playmaker and his AI watch a captive audience, but they’re hardly the ones who matter. In distant reality the children will cheer him on again, but the only one who has the power to turn desire into victory, who’ll either bask in the glory of reversal or fall into the trap of inadequacy- 

The only one with that power is him.

When the cameras all fall away, blown far by the winds kicked up by the tower nearing completion, he hardly notices. He’s too concentrated on scraping up every ounce of conviction he has, on overcoming every last one of Revolver’s tricks.

(He can’t. He fades.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly getting the hang of how to write Go... Very slowly though //


	19. [Yusaku & Ai] melodramatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 41] this is the story of a boy, a _melodramatic_ AI, and a game played on different stakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1/2)

Ai is, in every sense of the expression, the semi-physical embodiment of melodrama. Nothing is allowed to be just a statement, and no jab can be left ignored and unreplied to. If there  _ is _ no trouble, then Ai will invariably try to start some.

Yusaku finds it irritating rather than charming, expresses it in one word-  _ Quiet. _

(Ai realizes quite quickly what a benefit this is. It only takes him a second’s thought to use this to his full advantage. It becomes somewhat of a game, really. Make a pun, a bit of wholehearted praise when things are going well, a bit of animated panic when his life is on the line. How many times can he get Playmaker to snap at him, only to say not a word when he speaks up a minute later? If he plants the idea of friendship in the kid’s head enough times, will he finally get the thing Ai’s understood since he first saw Playmaker playing hero in LINK VRAINS?

It’s… fun. When he’s not half-convinced that this time Playmaker might really fail him, it’s fun.)

 

Ai is a liar. Yusaku has suspected this for quite a while, though he’d expected lies of omission rather than the bold-faced lie he’d foolishly let settle too close to complacent truth. 

The cyberse, the Ignis, the Knights of Hanoi- slowly does the picture of what could have been averted paint itself again before him in the words of the storm, as if it doesn’t already weigh heavy on the heart he should have hardened. 

In the end, the story doesn’t matter. Yusaku never joined this fight for the sake of an AI. He won’t end it for the sake of one, either.

(And Ai will not die here. No matter the consequences, Ai will not die.)


	20. [Revolver] volunteer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [au] the victims, the _volunteer,_ and the future that does not await them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (2/2)  
> 600 words

At eight years old, Revolver sees something beautiful. Stardust Road- the true one, of lights dancing on the water’s surface- gleams brighter than a galaxy in the night sky. He’s enchanted, spellbound.

His father at his side explains the goals of his project in short, easily digestible sentences. They detail something great, something that even the most brilliant of minds can only guess at. Like the distant edges of the universe, a world unknown. Revolver _understands._

“I want to help,” he says, the ocean reflected in his eyes.

“Do you know what you’re asking?” It’s so unlike his father to question him; Revolver has always known exactly for what he’s asked. He nods. The ambitious future that awaits them will be one of their own making. Revolver can’t reach out to touch the stars, but this he can seize, can hold close to his heart and treasure as his own.

His father reaches down, rests a solid hand on his shoulder. A mark of approval. A small show of pride from his stoic father.

“That’s my son.”

 

At nine years old, Revolver feels something unexpected. Different from the pull of the network or the thrum of monsters in the storm. He’s felt it once before, though the source was different. It’s a call- not for help, not in those words, but a call to be found. Soft, fading. If he ignores it, it will disappear completely, and this time there is no system of thought to carry away his words of reassurance. So Revolver goes searching.

_Where are you?_   He thinks into the night sky, and the answer comes in the rain clouds rolling in from the southern sky. A broken gate. A small fire, sheltered beneath an overhang.

He extends a soft hand down to the lost boy and promises, quiet against the rain- “ _I’ll give you a place to belong.”_

And for nine years, he does. Spectre swears his loyalty not just to the Knights of Hanoi and the eradication of what he had loved so dearly- but swears it to Revolver. Spectre will follow him gladly to the ends of the earth, burning out their lives before they’re so much as adults.

But it isn’t so bad, like this. Loneliness is a slow poison. Better to die without regrets together than to let the rope close in on their necks alone.

 

At eighteen years old, Revolver learns a set of three names- Kusanagi Shoichi, Jin, and _Fujiki Yusaku_.

The first and second are but curiosities to the third- an accomplice and a victim, but nothing against the enemy that destiny has made of the final. He can do nothing for a heart that had all but ceased to beat, that had given up without so much as mustering a final cry.

(It is not that he is so cold-hearted about this. It is simply that, in lieu of admitting to powerlessness, he must feign indifference. Because none of that starry-eyed ambition he’d seized a decade ago can heal a broken heart. All it can do is pick up the burdens he’s been left and attone.)

So his gaze turns elsewhere. Playmaker. Fujiki Yusaku. This boy, too, will chase him to the ends of the earth for the sake of his broken heart. It’s sliced neatly into thirds, cracks sealed closed with a golden hatred. A wound that’s stopped his time, stolen away his past and damned his present.

Revolver realizes, then- all of them, they’re not so different. Their past, their purposes, petty differences all.

They’re still fighting for the sake of a future they can’t reach.


	21. [Revolver & Yusaku & Ai] pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 42] the hero, the wounded, both no strangers to _pain_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been really terrible about replying to comments the past few weeks but I still appreciate everyone's opinions both here and over on tumblr ;;  
> Thank you all for putting up with me and my nonsense every week!!

In all his life he’s been no stranger to pain. The electric bite of loss and his back slamming into a wall is not his first memory, but it’s close enough to be his second. A hit to the cheek, a glancing blow to his arm, a chunk from his shoulder; he grits his teeth and weathers them all.

He doesn’t withstand the shock of the fourth.

Yusaku falls, thinking a single, lonely thought.

_Is this the end?_

(If Playmaker goes down, then so does he; that’s just the fact of the matter. And listen, Ai’s made it this far, so he’s sure as hell not dying here. For better or worse this kid is his partner.

_Too early for you to give up on me._ Ai thinks, and reveals one of his few remaining secrets. He won’t let this be their demise.)

Yusaku stares down at Ai, and doesn’t care if his exhausted act is all just for show. Because he’s seized the wind with healed hand, and he holds-

 

the faintest hope that he might make it in time. ( _For what?_ he questions, watching the data tick down. A life, reduced cleanly to plummeting numbers. _To see his father die a second time? 30-38-30-)_

His father has done distant wrongs; Revolver knows this. He couldn’t forget if he tried.

(And oh, has he tried. Blind idolization would have been an easier life than one led understanding the truth. _21-30-21-)_

He can’t avert his shielded eyes from the stars in the sky or the sins of the past.

(He can only hurry and hope. _14-8-0._ )

There’s no point in it now. As the very last thing he had left to protect slips away from him, Ryoken mourns. He chooses his final word, and lets the wind drag him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep... Thinking about that moment this episode where Yusaku attacks with Decode & Transcode Talker and we get a shot from over Revolver's shoulder (or it's really slightly before that but that's the most like. concrete moment) and the framing of the episode gradually switches completely to Revolver's perspective and anyway wow I'm crying again I love vrains


	22. [Revolver] ashamed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 43/hc] He’s reassured. He’s _ashamed._ His cries are the ones that no longer reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really needed some Hanoi family to soothe my soul after that... Unfortunately I'm still in pain. I apologize in advance if this turns into a revolver drabble collection for the next month orz

When Ryoken is eight years old, he spills the secret. The experiment ends, the cries stop, the world resumes its normal pace. Ryoken returns home to an empty house. His father’s assistants stop by every day, but leave every night.

They cook, they clean, they talk and tutor Ryoken on things too advanced for his age. He throws himself into learning anyway, because it means he doesn’t have to think about the things haunting him in the emptiness.

He craves their company as much as he never wants to see a single one of them again. 

He’s proud. He’s ashamed. He has integrity. He has no faith.

The new secret burns a hole through his chest. It must be hurting him, he thinks, because why else would he still need to cry himself to sleep?

It sears though him so hot that one day it falls straight out of his chest, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. 

“It was me,” he says over untouched hamburger steak, “I did it. I reported you.”

“We know, kid,” Genome replies unusually gentle from across the table, “We know.”

“I’m sorry,” he cries, and knows that words alone aren’t enough. 

 

When he is eleven years old, his father comes home.

His father comes home on a stretcher, wheeled in by Kyoko and Aso and so still that Ryoken thinks him lifeless.

Ryoken stands by the bedside and holds his father’s hand, listening to the sterile beeps of the monitor he already hates. He tells himself he can’t cry anymore. (The lingering flames in his chest burn the hole just that much wider.)

“Father?” he says. There’s no response. He shouldn’t have expected one.

“There might still be a way,” Kyoko says, her hand landing gentle atop his, “if we use the network.”

Ryoken nods, sharp and sure, because Kyoko’s words sound like hope. They sound like a future. They sound like the truth. He thinks that might be enough.

 

He rebuilds himself, his father, rebuilds  _ them _ . In the network, his father creates their organization: The Knights of Hanoi. The name of the start and the end. 

“You don’t have to lead,” Faust tells him, a hand on his shoulder and eyes level. Ryoken meets them steadily behind his mask. If he designed his avatar to look older, then Faust seems immeasurably younger, the lines of his face less drawn.

But Ryoken is already thirteen years old. He can no longer afford to feel an eight year old’s shame.

“I do,” Revolver says, and prepares himself for the offensive- for a lifetime spent chasing the Ignis, if he must. Revolver carves out a purpose from his father’s words, and uses it to fill the still-smoldering hole at his center.

 

In the end, the final gambit is left to the two of them- the boy who promised freedom, and the boy who returned.

“I’ll go ahead,” Spectre says, and Revolver doesn’t stop him. There’s not a duelist he trusts more to handle the hindrances to their plan. 

He doesn’t tell Spectre to log out. He doesn’t tell Spectre that he, at least, deserves to live. Spectre would never abandon him, even if he ordered it. Revolver is eighteen years old, and a part of him wishes for a family less loyal. That’s what he’d deserve.

His purpose already swallowed him whole. He’s nothing but ashes now.

 

(He stumbles back to reality and collapses at his father’s bedside. He intends to allow himself a moment to sate his aching heart, but no more. There’s no reason for him to be here now. Not alone.)


	23. [Revolver] mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 44] exhilaration, desperation, and the _mistakes_ Revolver is not allowed to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went a different direction than expected so ‘mistake’ is probably not the best word for this anymore but that’s what happens sometimes I suppose. Posting from mobile again so poke me if the formatting is weird ;;  
> Anyway this episode was amazing? I absolutely can’t wait for next week...

Revolver makes no mistakes. He duels Playmaker as a driving force with eyes only for his goal waiting prize at the end. Let Playmaker fill his field with ace monsters if he pleases; Revolver smirks and methodically destroys each and every one of them. As he does, it’s almost as if he can feel the pounding of his heart in his avatar’s chest, pulse racing down to the tips of his fingers as he draws. His smirk turns to something dangerously close to an exhilarated smile- too genuine, less anticipatory and more reactionary. When he duels in LINK VRAINS, he can forget. Not his purpose, or his destiny- those still weigh heavy as chains on his ankles, dragging him to the bottom of this digital sea. But the smaller realities temporarily fall away. His failures five years ago, in his first match against Playmaker. His family, avatars idle in the tower below and bodies comatose, soon to follow his father to the grave-  
He’s reminiscing. His phantom heart skips a beat, tumbles desperately back into frantic rhythm at the reminder of what he’s fighting for. (Of the mistakes he must rectify. The chains tie chill around his chest and dig in the hollows of his ribs. When he takes a breath, it’s all water in his lungs. He cries out for air at the depths of the sea, but there’s no one left to hear. He’d refused the hand extending the key to his shackles in favor of drowning them all.)  
Revolver steadies himself, smirks, and prepares to end it all with his own two hands. He’s always loved dueling. If anything seeps through his mask, if anything spills out from his heart and down the chains of fate- then let it not be desperation, but let it be _that_.


	24. [Yusaku] human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 45] they're prisoners, they're emissaries, they're two _humans_ caught between past and future both

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I was doing fine with this episode until about the third time I watched it and then I just...  
> Anyway I hope this interpretation is not... terribly off? I really, really love Yusaku's quiet little moments but those are the ones where it's hardest for me to get a read on him ;;

Fujiki Yusaku never intended on becoming a hero.

Not to the masses, at least- Playmaker was always a secret meant to be kept between only him, Kusanagi, and the Knights of Hanoi. His personal emissary of revenge born of the dark, seeking the light. Back then, he hadn’t known. Not about destiny, about the truth, about the fact Ryoken would keep his secret when he’d had every opportunity to crush him before it came to this. 

 

_ It must be nice… _

Yusaku lifts his head. In his blurry sights is Revolver- the last person still alive in this world. The one he’s wanted to save since even before his first thoughts of revenge. The voice that gave him the strength to live. The duelist that will destroy him with one wrong move.

 

_ Friends. A home. A desire that surpasses all else. _

He still has a reason left to fight, beyond their ending destinies and tangled threads of fate. Yusaku pushes himself to his feet, and does the only thing he can- laugh. He hasn’t felt this cornered in a decade; it’s not pleasant. But no matter how Revolver tries to change his strength to despair, Yusaku can’t forget the voice’s first lesson.

 

(If it all ends, will their futures be bright as Ai’s paradise? He still doesn’t know. But against such resolute hopelessness, he can believe.)

 

Revolver will not falter, and so Yusaku must not hesitate. Still. He’s so tired of seeing people fall before his eyes like a line of sacrifices to the goal. In the last moment he allows himself, he throws it all away. Heroism, destiny, revenge- for the sake of a miracle he stands on unsteady legs and bets it all on a path he truly believes they’ll create.

 

(A future chosen as two people, nothing more.)


	25. [ensemble] eventually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 46] some succeeded, most failed, but they’re all still dreaming of the day their _“eventually”_ comes to pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was such a lovely finale, I really couldn't have asked for much more to end the sho- wait what do you mean there's another episode next week??  
> Okay but all joking aside thank you all so much for putting up with me for roughly half a year now!! I really could talk about the vrains characters forever and I'm so excited to see what season two has in store for them (and what new characters get thrown into the mix!!)

For so long, Yusaku has lived for distant eventualities.  _ One day, he’ll find the one who ruined his life. One day, he’ll take his revenge and destroy them with his own two hands. One day, he’ll save the one who saved him. _

And, like dominoes falling in a chain, they’ve all come to pass. Not neatly, and not without pain- but the wounds will heal. Leave behind jagged, ugly scars, but they’ll heal nonetheless.

Once he’s made his peace, Ryoken will return. Yusaku watches him disappear into the moonlit sea, and hopes he comes back changed, that he takes Yusaku’s words to heart the same way Yusaku has clung to his a decade. He doesn’t know how long it might take. But for now, Yusaku casts one last glance at the ocean and thinks it’s something to look forward to. As the evening plunges fast into night, Yusaku walks light through the city, dreaming of a new  _ eventually _ .

 

Relieved, the fallen pick themselves up from the ground. They still have so much further to go if they want to cast off their selfishness, to chase the path only  _ they _ can take, to climb their way back to their positions of grandeur. The future weighs heavy on their shoulders as they face the upwards slope- but they’ve already traversed the depths of hell, already stared their greatest failures down as demons and resolved to throw their burdens off their backs.

Freedom is terrifying, exhilarating- the roads stretch out infinite before them, and there’s no longer anyone but themselves to tell them the right one to forge. The future is a challenge, and one by one, they’ll all find their way home.

(They won’t say  _ let’s meet again _ when they part, because somewhere deep down, they believe they will even without promises.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is in fact quite cheesy but /shhh/ I was half-crying half-laughing by the end of the episode so let me have this one lol


	26. [Shoichi] pattern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 47] the Kusanagi brothers, their broken flow of time, and the _pattern_ Shoichi can't help but see

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT AN EPISODE

Kusanagi Shoichi is beginning to notice a pattern, and it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture. He fails to save Zaizen Akira, and one more burden lands on Yusaku’s shoulders. When they finally confront Revolver, it’s all he can do to run from the room to watch the duel in his van. When Yusaku falls, and when for just a moment it seems he won’t stand again, Shoichi’s support means nothing, trapped on the other side of the screen.

But it all ends. Yusaku pulls through, saving what remains of the network and those trapped within. And after ten long, painful years, he can finally tell Jin that it’s _over_. Revolver is still out there somewhere, but Kogami Kiyoshi is dead and his subordinates don’t seem the type to take further action, at least not without their leader.

“It’s all over,” he says, and the second time makes it real.

Jin doesn’t reply, but it’s as if something leaves him in the next breath, scales heavy and dark falling away from him. Not all of the burden, but just enough. When he looks up to meet Shoichi’s gaze, the small smile on his lips finally sparkles dim in his eyes. Immediately Shoichi hugs him tight, if only to hide the fact his eyes are watering- they’ve cried enough tears, over the years. Happiness is better met with smiles and laughter.

Now it’s their turn to retake their stolen time.

 

(They get three months. Not even ninety days before their tentative, genuine happiness is broken back down to shards of panicked hatred. Something- someone- drags themself through the fabric of the virtual and reality and tears Jin through his fingertips.

It all happens right before his eyes. He has no excuse.

Jin is _hurt._ Their time’s stopped again- and he’s _powerless_.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I was thinking the whole end of the ToH arc that S1 was supposed to knock everyone in the supporting cast down to their lowest points, but Shoichi got off pretty easy? But as it turns out... (lol)  
> (I'm excited but also very afraid someone save Jin quick ;;)


	27. [Ai & Flame] missed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 48] dueling, his partner, and all the other things that Ai's _missed_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1/2) There are both late and messy but hey there's two of them?? If you've left me a nice comment lately: thank you I've probably cried over it and will be getting back to you shortly!! This week has been a little (muffled screaming)

The truth is, Ai’s missed this.

Dueling? About a thousand times more fun when it’s not his life on the line, for once. Not that Ai’s bothered calculating it. And not that having the hot dog man’s little brother in peril is much better, after everything Kusanagi’s done to help. But that’s where they come in, after all.

Beating up the bad guys, one quip at a time? Honestly, Ai’s thought up a dozen different puns while he’s been traveling, and for what- to let them all go to waste without an audience? Three months in the network were dull, without anyone to hear him.

His partner? Sure, he and Yusaku had a touching farewell, and all, but _really._ Playmaker can always use his help, _especially_ with a couple of upgrades and the data at his every whim.

And Ai misses playing hero- including the rewards that come after. Ai would grin, if he could have a mouth. Except wait- he _can_.

 _I’m going to enjoy this,_ he thinks, and gets ready to swallow Bowman’s stolen data whole. He lasts a whopping two seconds before the twitching starts. It’s one more before the burning kicks in, and Ai rears back. _This_ isn’t what he wants, not at all.

 

The truth is, Flame couldn’t care less whether he ran into that gallivanting airhead in the network again or not.

Where had he been when they’d lost their home again? He only gets to play the savior card once. As far as Flame is concerned, rescuing them five years ago just barely managed to make up for his laziness. Unfortunately, his new partner is a bit more amenable to helping than him- but if it gives _Flame_ a chance to show off, for once, well. He certainly won’t turn down the chance.


	28. [Hal] prepared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 48/spec-ish] _preparations,_ plans, and an unexpected magic trick or two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (2/2) I already love this child. I love all the new characters but this small one in particular

Hal is not the type to be unprepared- there are a dozen different ways that his plan could go, opening up a hundred different possibilities. Still, Hal likes to think that he’s accounted for them all, ticking his defenses one by one off his fingers.

A new code talker is out of the question, now that the network’s been reconstructed and data storms vanished. Whether what remains is an overcomable obstacle or not… Hal flicks down a finger and decides to call it _ potential _ . He’s analyzed the data, and while he believes in their plan, he knows how Bowman can be. Crude dueling is still dueling, but finesse will be necessary to defeat Playmaker and his veritable array of Link Monsters. Which means he needs to have a backup plan. Potentially two. Failure isn’t an option, not with the stakes this high. The ends will have to justify the means, and that’s all there is to it. They can’t lose sight of the path to memory.

 

The actual duel brings up something Hal hasn’t anticipated- like reciting a magic spell, Playmaker summons himself a Ritual Monster, and Bowman’s program falls to shambles, more delicate than he’d hoped.

Hal sighs.  _ Well hasn’t this turned into a mess..? _

A few choice words put that brother of his back into the action, thankfully- Bowman might be in a state, but he knows Hal’s voice. With memory in shambles, Hal supposes that heavy-handed prompting and instant trust is the best he can ask for.

But then Playmaker decides to pull another magic trick- or rather, the Ignis on his arm summons an impossible storm, and from it pulls another unaccounted for monster. But Hal hasn’t made useless preparations. Playmaker seizes an empty win, because they still have the data- and that’s all that matters. 


	29. [Takeru & Flame] impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 49/hc] Soulburner, Flame, and the importance of a good first _impression_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, before the episode: hmmm I know I'll like Takeru and Flame because I like all the characters in this show but wonder if I'll end up liking them as much as the old ones...
> 
> Me, 50 seconds into the episode: I LOVE THEM AND WILL HEAR NO SLANDER AGAINST THEM

(Here’s the thing that Takeru’s always thought about AIs. They’re supposed to be precise, accurate, and prompt. Occasionally a bit annoying- he really doesn’t need to hear _idiot is a forbidden word_ from his duel disk, thanks- but useful, given the right situation. Unfortunately, Takeru isn’t sure that he can apply any of those to the AI that crashes into his life at all.

First the Ignis introduces himself as _Flame._ And then he introduces himself as _indomitable soul dream_ , and it takes Takeru a moment to even realize what kanji he’s talking about with nonsense like that.

“Did you give yourself that name?” Takeru asks, because he’s known this AI for all of two minutes and he already has a sneaking suspicion of what he’s stuck dealing with.

Flame crosses his arms. He doesn’t have a mouth, but he doesn’t need one to somehow give off the impression that he’s smiling proudly. It’s probably the way his eyes burn- literally. Takeru’s alarmed for a full three seconds, worried his cards are going to turn to ashes before figuring it’s probably fine. Probably.

“It’s a good name, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” Takeru replies, because he has no idea what else to say. The fact that an Ignis appeared before him means there are more important things to address than a name. “Why are you here, exactly?”

“I’m the AI that was born to be your partner,” Flame says, and even though Takeru _knows_ \- even though he very much _knows…_

_No one says that in real life,_ he thinks, and so things tumble on from there, straight into LINK VRAINS.

“You need to match me, of course,” Flame says, in the kind of tone Takeru is about to realize means that resistance is futile. Luckily, he doesn’t find himself minding much. If he’s got to make an impression, then he’s going to make it a good one. Flame’s insistence on looking cool means he gets to go wild without worry. And it is, if Takeru dares admit it, kind of refreshing to _burn_.)

 

Finally it’s here- their grand debut. Either they win this duel, take a step closer towards the information they’re chasing, or they burn themselves out before they’ve even gotten a chance to light up the dark before them. It’s their moment of truth, and Takeru can’t help but grin. They won’t lose.

That said: Takeru has absolutely no idea how Flame can keep track of the fact he’s introduced himself _thirty-seven times_ (and just to him. Takeru would like to reiterate that every time he sarcastically asks Flame _anything about his name, he repeats this monologue in complete and utter earnestness_ ) but can’t remember the most important effect of his ace monster.

Takeru doesn’t sigh, because Soulburner wouldn’t. If he’s going to act like a hero, then he might as well go all out until the very end, burning draw and all. This is their path to the future- this is how they seize their first victory.

When it’s all said and done, Takeru falls to a knee and glances down at his duel disk- he understands that AIs don’t exactly have a sense of pain, at least not in the same way humans do- but really, would it kill Flame to be a _little_ more worried about him, given the stakes?

And then Flame _does_ try to act concerned, and _yeah_ , Takeru thinks. It’s definitely going to kill _someone_ , and that someone is going to be him. Of embarrassment.

_Whatever_ , he thinks, and picks himself back up, racing to catch up with Playmaker. _This is just the beginning._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But really though...  
> they're so great what absolute dorks. a chuuni AI and the shounen protagonist looking-type who's really the megane side character. amazing. i absolutely can't wait to see them interact with the rest of the cast in the next few weeks! which speaking of, next week's episode might contradict some of this but I'm sure whatever we get will be equally amusing so it's fine lol


	30. [Akira] lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 50] Zaizen Akira, the _lessons_ he's learned, and the teams he creates

Akira likes to think that he’s learned his lessons, and learned them well.

What Akira walks now is a perilous line; Queen will have his head at the first proof of insubordination, yet as far as he’s concerned he owes Playmaker more than anyone. The burdens of the world had fallen on that child’s shoulders once before, and if he can ease them even a fraction, then Akira won’t hesitate. His position might not allow that openly, but Akira is no stranger to sneaking across the back channels. If anything, it’s a return to his roots.

Queen orders him to lead and organize the bounty hunters, so Akira assembles only the finest. He simply doesn’t have a  _ team _ in mind when he sends out his invitations.

(He doesn’t have to ask Ghost Girl to decline- she smiles at him over the cafe table and cheerfully-  _ knowingly _ \- spills the dregs of her coffee over the contract. 

She’s in his corner.) 

 

Akira watches pleased as his ragtag hunters fall apart before it so much as begins, and thinks from Hayami’s exasperated laugh that he must be doing a rather terrible job of hiding it. Still- Akira gives them their orders, arranges a meeting, and walks the tightrope wire.

Now, the final piece.

He steps out of his car, and realizes as he walks down towards the park that the him of a year ago would never have done this. He would have insisted she stay out of it, safe where he can protect her. But she’s stronger than his worries give her credit for. Anyone that can face down death without flinching doesn’t deserve to be caged.

He greets them warmly, and when Aoi asks him  _ why, _ he looks over his team and answers, “I need you to help me assist Playmaker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I've given Akira a full drabble to himself yet which is such a shame considering how much I like him... anyway I presume Queen is going to catch on and like. step on him at some point. i absolutely can't wait (lol)


	31. [Go] mainstream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 51] _mainstream_ approval, "everyone's charisma" - you tell yourself you'll cast it all away.

You’ve staked your life on this.

It wasn’t a conscious decision- pursuing what you love often isn’t- but that’s the truth of what it’s become. This is your _everything_. When you had nothing, you had this: Dueling. Charisma. _Power._

And none of them care. They turn towards you but their gazes are set beyond, towards the person three steps ahead.

Playmaker.

Their question are kind. Polite. Business pleasant. But first question slants towards _him_ and it’s a frenzy, reporters tumbling over themselves with the same fervor they used to have addressing you. They’ve chosen their new hero. _Savior._

And that’s what stings the most, isn’t it? You lost. He won. You stood center stage and spoke hollow words of passion and pride, and he snatched the glory out from under you. You stood undefeated, before he came along and ruined you. Stole away your position and dearest fans.

And if that’s the case- then you don’t need any of those meaningless things. Not until you earn them back. You fight for yourself, now, pursuing desire with the same single mindedness that gives Playmaker his strength.

(You forget that you hadn’t hated your first loss. You forget that you’d lost, and you’d laughed- and left things to Playmaker gladly, because you’d had faith.)

 

And then comes the kid. Another victim. You don’t know how they’ve suffered. You don’t _care._ It’s not selling out if it ultimately gets you your way.

He calls the failed you a hero. You _don’t care._ A shared stage is never what you’ve wanted, because that doesn’t do a single thing to prove you exist. That you still have worth in the world that never once wanted to look your way before dueling, _winning-_

He calls you pathetic. A hypocrite.

You _don’t care._

  


(You can’t afford to.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already liked Go but somehow now I love him even more ;; He's being very hypocritical in a way that feels very viscerally human, and then throwing him up against Takeru... I definitely had to take a step away after this episode lol. 52 is probably going to kill me too. how many successive weeks will I be murdered by vrains... (not that i'm complaining lol)


	32. [Kiku & Takeru] westbound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 52] Takeru, Kiku, and the _westbound_ train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon gave me the chance for outside pov and I'm 100% taking it, it's my favorite structure trope ;; Anyway the childhood friends vibe with these two is pretty strong, so I hope we see her again? I'm just really happy Takeru had some sort of support system

Kiku makes sure to check in on Takeru, because god knows no one else is going to do it. It helps that they’re neighbors, and that neighbors in this part of the world means parents helping grandparents with the heavy yard work while their children sit and eat watermelon on the back porch.

Those are the days where Kiku nudges him in the shoulder and teases him into going somewhere down the street, or past the fields- but it never lasts. Takeru skips school more days than he attends, hides away for days, then vanishes off somewhere without so much as a word. It’s like Takeru wants to try and live in a world all his own, and it scares Kiku to think what might have happened to him if he hadn’t had grandparents and neighbors and the tight-knit community that Kiku’s spent her whole life growing alongside.

Nothing good, she thinks, but it just reminds her that he’s never  _ belonged _ here, not in the same way as her. The slow pace of country life might heal some hearts and soothe some wounds, but she knew even back then that it’s never going to be what lets Takeru put himself back together.

The city’s going to suit him, she thinks- especially if he keeps that glimmer in his eye, that fire in his heart.

She’s never seen  _ that _ Takeru- the one that can live like she can, who goes out to faraway places to meet strange people without hesitation. But she wants to. And buoyed by his determination, she really believes that she will. He’s got a good heart and an indomitable strength- Kiku knows that better than anyone.  

_ Look alive, Takeru, _ Kiku thinks, waving him through the station gates.  _ And don’t forget about us. We’ll be waiting for you. _


	33. [Aoi] saint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 53] stories about _saints,_ about hopes, about plucking feathers down to scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I expected from this episode: Blood Shepherd  
> What I got: everything else  
> (I'm not complaining though, this episode was such a treat. anyway, here's my fave ygo girl)
> 
> (1/3)

Blue Angel’s not a saint.

She’s always existed for her own sake, her own story, a vibrant reminder of her own strength in flashy wings and bubbly, hopeful mannerisms. She soars as idol bright back through the world on wings reborn. There isn’t a soul in LINK VRAINS that doesn’t await Blue Angel’s reappearance. 

That’s right.

Blue Angel doesn’t belong to her alone. Like turning the storybook pages, she’s become hope. A hero alongside Playmaker himself.  _ If you have the courage to fight in the face of the dark, then you can surely seize your dreams. _

Aoi lifts her hand, watching the distant data winds swirl between the gaps of her fingers. The kind of person she wants to duel as. The differences between Zaizen Aoi and Blue Angel.  _ What kind of person does the idol playing at  _ savior  _ want to be? _

_ I fight, because… _

Aoi clenches her fist, closes her eyes, and logs out.

 

The answer comes from her battered heart. To take up the charge again- not for the sake of having Akira acknowledge her, but because she wants to help him see his goals through to the end.    
Ema tries to tell her that she isn’t prepared for this. Aoi doesn’t think Ema gets to tell her anything about what she’s ready for or not. She’s fought, and she’s fallen, and she knows exactly what kind of resolve is needed to put it all on the line again, isolated from outside support. The prospect of darkness doesn’t scare her, any more.

 

Aoi plucks the feathers from her shoulders and wonders if they were ever true strength at all. Her wings are gone, just scars on her back, but she doesn’t call it grace lost. Angel to human, hope to mere girl. 

To Aoi, it’s a brilliant rebirth.


	34. [Ema & Blood Shepherd] resurface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 53] a lingering unease, a mystery unsolved, and the certainty Blood Shepherd will _resurface_ one day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I can't spell 'Shepherd' so I had to check like a dozen times to make sure this was right (lol)  
> Not quite spec but canon might also toss some elements from this right out the window as soon as wednesday so? Either way I'm /super/ interested in what's going on with this backstory...
> 
> (2/3)

Ema’s attitude towards Blood Shepherd is complicated, to say the least of it. That’s always been true, but as far as Ema’s concerned, the events of today only prove that.

Her relationship with Akira is clean, straightforward- she knows exactly the moment they met, and their arrangements are made through contracts signed in charming words. They get along well, the terms they stand on are clear. Nothing more and nothing less.

Blood Shepherd is a third party. They’ve worked together before, though ‘together’ is somewhat of a misnomer. They’ve fought for the same side, lured towards the hard jobs by the promise of a nice reward and a virtual world slightly less turbulent than before- though far towards the former, in Blood Shepherd’s case. 

It makes today’s mission all the more unnerving.

Blood Shepherd  _ knows her, _ and she doesn’t know why. If they’d met, she’s certain she’d remember his voice- an advantage she’s not naive enough to think she can’t use, especially when he makes his attitude towards protecting his identity clear. Immediately she logs out and starts digging- but there’s not so much as a trace of him. The man might as well be a phantom, a daydream, a dangerous hallucination. Every time they meet, that pressure surges up like target painted across her back. He’d protected her then, but who’s to say that a pretty coin won’t convince him otherwise?

Eventually, their paths stop crossing. Akira takes a promotion, and Ema leaves the bounty hunter business- she’s gotten used to having Akira as a reliable partner, and ultimately, she prefers chasing treasure on her own terms. But it bothers her, sits a knot of unease in her chest that grates against the very fabric of her.

Because she never learns just why exactly Blood Shepherd knows her name.


	35. [Shoichi] carnivore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 53/spec] the _carnivore,_ the egoist, the man who weaves the spider's web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my brain may have connected /too/ many dots here but now that I'm thinking about it I'm /dying/ canon please. canon p l e a s e  
> (3/3)

Shoichi does what he has to.  _ What he has to _ isn’t always kind, or even remotely legal, but he’s long since passed the point of wasting words on aimless, sleepless nights about the moral dilemmas of his work. 

Jin comes first. His well-being and his recovery. Anything else, any of the means Shoichi takes to help Jin get there are things he can rationalize away just by reminding himself of that. Jobs take care of the former, and build him a bit of a reputation in places decent people don’t gather. It’s there that he decides to handle the rest.

He forms a group. He bills it as pure ambition- for those skilled enough to surpass the protections of the government itself.

In reality, it’s designed to dig up anything related to that Incident seven years ago and siphon the information directly to him. And for a while, it works. All the roadblocks he’s hit thus far crumble one by one in the face of the small legion of talented hackers that flock towards him and his loose, lofty goals.

(He’s younger, then, and in retrospect he can see his mistakes- he let the group get too big, let too much slide. When he asked for ambition, he hadn’t quite realized what dangerous ego would accompany it. Only fitting, for the understated sort of egoist desperation had driven him to be, back then.)

It doesn’t last. Members of the group start to branch off, to run sub-agendas beneath the orders he gives. At first Shoichi hardly sees reason to worry- if he loses one or two people, then inevitably there will be others to come and take their place- but they don’t cast off their theme. Spiders and spiderwebs meant to trap whoever had hurt Jin, turned into a pointless weapon by people who have no hope of understanding.

It brings attention. One is a rogue incident. Two is an alarming pattern. Three is organized crime, behind whose pawns there’s doubtless a leader. The bounty hunters start to close in on him- apprehending not just the rogues, but his loyal members, too.

So he vanishes. 

He starts over- not all of the work, because what he can grasp with legal means won’t pay Jin’s bills- but casts enough of it away that he won’t be traced. He’s old enough now to front a business, at least for  _ some _ sort of legal income to cover his tracks. He doesn’t stop poking around, of course, but he keeps it quiet, spends the next two years digging into smaller sources for the things that might have fallen through the cracks- and stumbles not on information, or Hanoi itself- but after upon Yusaku, fighting blind a lonely battle.

(So he reaches out a hand, and thinks if he can ease that burden even a little, then-)

Three years later, they find him again. The first time Ghost Girl’s information comes, addressed to  _ Daddy Long Legs, _ Shoichi all but has a heart attack.

He’s learned his lessons, kicked his bad habits to the curb. He’s got Yusaku to protect now, not just Jin- he’s their brother. He’s not going to leave them high and dry. He knows full well what trouble he’s caused in the past, but at the very least, he wants to see this through.

And, as it turns out- Ghost Girl and that Zaizen Akira might not be opposed. He still can’t let them interfere- not when it’s  _ their _ revenge, their story to see through to the end. But if like this enemies can become allies, then Shoichi won’t protest the help. 


	36. [Kengo] wartime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 54] casualties and soldiers, enemies and their allies. _wartime_ catches everyone up in its waves eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these have been trending towards being quite late, I do want to try and upload them earlier than 12:40 am on wednesday morning from now on. life is just being a bit difficult ;;

Once upon a time, Dojun Kengo had been blind. 

It had been such a blissful sort of ignorance. Peaceful. Optimistic. His greatest worry had been making sure he’d have enough to treat his mother to anything she wanted, to impress her with the newest advances. 

He hadn’t realized, then, what potential AI held for disaster. Not until he’d experienced their failure firsthand, until the screech of folding metal rang like a chorus through his ears that even the sirens and his own voice, calling desperate for the woman who’d supported for him, sacrificed for him, couldn’t drown out. 

 

The scales had been torn bloody from his bandaged eye.

Rogue, malfunctioning AIs weren’t an anomaly. They were a pattern, grasping at something that they could never be allowed to reach.

This wasn’t a job. This was a battlefield, and Blood Shepherd intended never to face defeat. 

He’d embraced the war and found his enemies were so pathetically easy to fool. They hardly understood the concept of trickery, couldn’t willfully navigate the nuances of deceit. If he gave them a three count, they honestly believed that he’d hold to it.

They didn’t deserve free will- they hardly deserved even a  _ mind. _ AIs were fools. 

(And half of the time, he thought, looking over fool after fool and tool after tool, tricked by the promise of  _ three _ and startled with action on  _ two- _ humans were no better. Blind, the lot of them all.)

Who decided what an AI said was accurate? Who decided when it spoke, and who decided when it had said enough?

_ The one who controls it, _ thought Kengo, loading his newest weapon into his duel disk and standing to answer that Zaizen’s call. He’d seized fine victories, until now- but the war was truly to begin. He’d show no mercy.


	37. [Aoi & Ema] plea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 55] _pleas_ , truths, and a hope that makes Ema want to believe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I think I can't love Aoi any more she shows up on screen and proves me wrong. i'd like this trend to continue until the end of time please and thank you

Zaizen Aoi still has a long way to go.

She falls, unprepared for the winds that greet them, then rushes out reckless against it again. Ema frowns as she chases after her, wondering how battered she’d be if no one was there to catch her.

But there’s a brilliance. There’s a bloom of hope that spills out from her brighter than her stage persona, spoken in simple words with a desire that radiates from her determined. Her courage is a blunt weapon, driven forwards to a goal she won’t falter from.

Even wandering blind and deaf to her pleas, Ema would still be able to sense it. And she’d still give in, she knows, because childish or not, it’s the kind of hope that makes her want to believe.

Because Aoi has always had the option to give up. To turn back, to live the peaceful life she’d earned for herself. Certainly her brother would have rested easier. Certainly she could have lived. But it wouldn’t have been contently.

She’s Ema’s kind of girl, really- an adventurer, a partner in crime. In a strange, fleeting way, she reminds Ema of Akira, in the days when he’d spent less time managing a team behind a desk and more running the worlds with her. But Ema won’t do her the disservice of considering her only in relation to someone else. 

She’s a long road left to go- the way she stubbornly starts a fight with Soulburner only proves it. She’s still naive, still speaks proud lofty words that she can’t yet hope to live up to. But she isn’t alone, and she won’t falter in forging her path forwards. 

A fall is nothing.

Angel or girl or transient being between, a little part of Ema can’t help but earnestly cheer her on.


	38. [Takeru & Ensemble] consideration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 56] his heroes, their failings, and a question left for Takeru's _consideration_

Isn’t Flame kind of unreliable? Takeru would like it on record that Flame is kind of the most unreliable Ai he’s ever met. If he has a useful contribution to make, then Takeru would kind of like to hear it- though his hopes aren’t exactly high.

If he’s going to duel his heroes- if he’s going to end up standing alongside them, then he needs every advantage he can get. He has to win. He can’t lose- not a duel or Flame or this new purpose he’s found for himself, buoyant and propelling him forwards at speeds he only could have imagined.

 

_ When you lose, your true nature is revealed. _

Go Onizuka said it like a justification to his own weakness, but Takeru wonders. 

Playmaker has never lost. Neither has Soulburner. 

But Yusaku and Takeru have.

Over and over and over, until the fear of it was carved in their bones and their rejection of it written into the fabric of their world itself. They don’t have the option to lose. The stakes have always been too steep- like the final turn of this duel. High risk, mere survival their return.

 

So what does that make them?

 

He thinks about Zaizen Aoi- about Blue Angel, about Blue Girl, waking back in the real world. She’s lost, too. Plenty of times- to Playmaker, to Spectre, to him, just now. 

But she’ll be back, because there’s still things she needs to accomplish. She’s the same as them- still fighting, still carving her way through the world with the same indomitable spirit and unstoppable drive. She’ll be back smarter and stronger, because she’s fallen enough times to no longer be afraid of the long climb back to the top.

 

So again, Takeru wonders- what exactly does that make them?

  
  


(...And what will it?)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fact so much of this show's character building relies on failure/reaction to failure is something I like quite a lot personally but also the upcoming episodes have me... worried (lol)  
> (I'm bracing myself for pain at some point)


	39. [Yusaku] replacement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ep 57] truth? lies? at the center of it all is a _replacement's_ trap

He’s read hands before. Revolver. Mirror Force. He’s whittled his life down to scraps in order to see his purpose through. But he’s never been powerless in the face of an offensive.

 

Revelations:

A backup. Another him. An accident within a greater tragedy. The meaning is clear-  _ You have no right to exist. _

His words must be lies. Bowman hadn’t given the slightest hint to this, the first time-

It’s a lie. It’s not possible. 

 

But what  _ if? _

What if the reason he’s struggled and failed for ten years to dredge up a single scrap of his stolen happiness is because there’s nothing  _ to _ remember?

 

_ You were born of nothing. _

His first memory. A world of white. An endless stream of duels. Electricity searing through him. A single voice to break up the monotony-  _ “Hey, you.” _

 

_ You have only ever known suffering, _ taunt the heavens, certain of their victory.

But that’s not true. He’s moving on. The Incident is over, after ten years of suffering-

_ Over for you, _ whisper the stars, cold and cruel,  _ but not for the person whose life you stole. _

 

It can’t be true.

He has no choice but to win, to live. The weight of the sky cannot crush him yet. The stakes are greater than himself- Kusanagi and his brother. Ai and the Cyberse. If for nothing else, for them-

_ How much suffering have you caused in order to keep yourself alive? How many people have you burned? How many people have you ruined, replica? _

He’s fixing things. Setting the world right, easing the pains of others trying to take the same steps forwards-

_ And how will you fix this? Certainly not with a victory. _

He can only duel. He can only win.

He’s fought for so long. Even if he really is-

  
  
( _ Caught you. _ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I was going to do my worst but it came out kind of tame (lol) My desire to protect Yusaku has grown too strong...  
> Since this week is a break and they've decided to leave us on the worst possible cliffhanger, I'll be posting some headcanons or spec? Unsure, I don't have anything in particular planned so we'll see what happens


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